2012 Grammy Awards: Whitney tribute a solemn event

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty ImagesIt wasn't elaborate, and it certainly wasn't extended. Surprisingly, the Grammys did not dwell on Houston's death at age 48, and neither did Soul singer Jennifer Hudson, who took to the Grammy stage at at quarter to eleven to deliver a brief but heartfelt tribute to the late singer.

It wasn’t elaborate, and it certainly wasn’t extended. Surprisingly, the Grammys did not dwell on Houston’s death at age 48, and neither did Soul singer Jennifer Hudson, who took to the Grammy stage at at quarter to eleven to deliver a brief but heartfelt tribute to the late singer. Hudson sang an abbreviated version of “I Will Always Love You” – Houston’s signature number, and an opportunity to belt. The capable Jennifer Hudson soared to the high notes, and did seem to be choking back tears as she hit them. But she didn’t show off, and she didn’t grandstand. Her version was a mournful, tasteful one. Under a solitary blue spotlight, Hudson’s version could even be described as ghostly.

How different it was from the rendition of “I Will Always Love You” that opened the Grammy Awards in 1994. That was Whitney Houston, still in her prime, squeezing every ounce of drama out of the high notes.

Houston shot out the lights that night, as she often did on the Grammy Awards. Between 1996 and 2000 – the year of her final win – she performed eight times on the annual program, and often had an armada of instrumentalists backing her up.

Hudson, by contrast, opened the song a capella, and proceeded with little more than piano accompaniment. Her version of “I Will Always Love You” was the most apparent moment of tribute at an awards show that often seemed to be shadowed by Houston’s death. At times, it seemed that the Grammys were running from the memory of Whitney Houston. LL Cool J opened the show with a quick memorial prayer; that dispensed with, the Grammys charged on to the first performance. A heavily rumored tribute performance by Chaka Khan never materialized.

And the show – which was dominated by British pop singer Adele, who took Album, Song, and Record of the Year – concluded not with the expected nod to Houston, but with a rare Grammy display of testosterone run rampant. Paul McCartney jammed his way through the closing suite of “Abbey Road,” accompanied by Bruce Springsteen, Joe Walsh, and a wailing Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters. This was fun, but it was also about as far from Whitney Houston’s aesthetic as it’s possible to get without actually having a jackhammer onstage. They could have done better to honor a performer who always gave the Grammys the best she had to give.